Method of desizing and cleansing fabrics



Patented June 2,

JOSEPH P. IILLIKIN, OF HASBROUOK HEIGHTS, NEW JERSEY, ASSIGNOR TOBELLMAN BROOK BLEAOHERY. COMPANY, OF FAIRVIEW, NEW JERSEY, A CORPORATIONOF NEW JERSEY.

METHOD OF DESIZING AND CLEANSING FABRICS.

' 1T0 Drawing.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, Josnrn P. MILLIKIN, residing at Hasbrouck Heights,county of Bergen, State of New Jersey, have invented an Improvement inMethods of Desizing and Cleansing Fabrics, of which the following is aspecification.

The present invention is a process of cleansing and desizing cottonfabric as it comes from the loom preparatory to merccrizing, bleaching,and dyeing.

The object of the invention is primarily to dispense with the usualprotracted steeping and boiling operations as well as the washings andother intermediate steps thereby necessitated, and in place thereof toemploy a series of steps in the nature of one continuous operationconsuming but a few minutes of time. Y v

Another object is the substantial reduction of expense now incident tothe finishing of cotton goods. To thisend, the present inventiondispenses with the usual boiling under steam pressure in kiers, andalso.

with much of the usual manual labor, so a plant of any given capacity isenabled materially to increase its output. I

The invention consists broadly in treating cotton fabric beforemercerizing with a mineral acid to desize and cleanse the matcrial. if

It is -well known that ordinarily grey cotton goodsas they come from theloom' contain natural resinous, waxy and fatty matters, sometimes anorganic coloring matter, a small percentage of mineral matters,

. and also the size introduced during the process of manufacture,together with .an accumulation of ordinary dirt. The size is usually acomposition of starch and tallow or othersaponified fat and frequentlyparaflin wax. All of these matters must be re moved before the fabriccan be mercerized and bleached to produce, a uniform cloth.

It is the usual present practice, following the singeing operation, tosaturate the goods. with a dilute caustic, followed by boiling understeam pressure in dilute caustic and other chemicals, to decomposeordis-' solve the starchy and other foreign matters so they may bewashed out. If the saturation takes the form of steeping, this step mayrequire 24 hours. A single boiling will require from 8 to 12 hours more.

Application filed August 2, 1824. Serial No. 728,711.

If a second boiling be needed, it will con-' sume additional time offrom 8 to 12 hours. And it requires about hou'rs each time thematerialiis put in and taken out of a kier. From the foregoing itappears that the time actually consumed, if the fabric is steeped andtwice boiled, is from 46 to 54 hours.

Following the boiling step and removal from the kier, the usual processis first to wash the fabric; next sour or acidify with dilute mineralacid, usually sulphuric, to neutralize the caustic solution and todissolve foreign matters not attacked by the caustic; then wash again,mangle and dry. These various steps prepare the fabric for the usualmercerizing treatment to be followed by bleaching; or, as is well known,the bleaching-process may precede the mercerization.

By the resent invention all the foregoing steps ollowing the singeingoperation and preparatory to mercerizing and bleaching are eliminated,and the fabric is conducted in one continuous uninterrupted run from thesinger into the mercerizlng bath (or the chlorine bath if'it is to befirst bleached); and the time of this run is approximately thirtyminutes, instead of more than that number of hours consumed by the oldprocess as above described.

According to the present invention, as the fabric comes from the singerto be cleansed and desized, it is first passed through a bath of mineralacid. It has been found that a hot hydrochloric acid solution, made toTwaddell at about 1 degree, is very efiecti've'for the purpose when thefabric is subjected to the action thereof for approximately one minute.If the solution is made somewhat stronger and the temperature thereofsomewhat increased, the time of treatment may be shortened. Morespecifically, the ordinary grey cotton fabric may be very efficientlytreated by subjecting it for one minute to the action of a solution madeto Twaddell at 1 degree and raised to or near the boiling-point. Inpractice, the solution is preferably used at from 180 F. tothe-boiling-point; but,

if raised to the boil, wasteful evaporation should be prevented by asuitable covering for the vat.

' Either sulphuric or nitric acid may be.

used in place of hydrochloric; but the latter is preferred primarily forthe reason that it forms a soluble salt with the natural lime of thecotton and is more easily removed. Whereas. sulphuric acid formsasulphate of lime, which isnot easily removed and makes the fabricunduly harsh; while nitric acid is more dangerous to both the user andthe fabric, and is also more expensive than hydrochloric.

Following the dilute acid bath, the fabric is next squeezed, washed withwater, sprayed with a neutralizing agent such as a solu- 'tion'ofcaustic soda, preferably at or near the boil and made to Twaddell atapproximately 1 degree, again squeezed, and sprayed to cool.

The fabric may then be run directly from the spray into the mercerizingbath. The

last spray is preferably a' cold dilute caustic, rather than plainwater, in order that the caustic mercerizing solution may not be toogreatly diluted; and, to the same end, the fabric is preferably squeezedat a point intermediate the last spray and the mercerizing bath.

In the usual practice, the fabric is soured a second time and washedafter being mercerized and before bleaching. The souring step isdispensed with in the present invention, and the fabric given a wash ator near the boil for 10 to. 15 minutes with any suitable textile soap toremove all chemicals and other non-desirablematters. A wash suitable forthe purpose is made by five pounds of soap to one hundred thirty gallonsof water. This soap wash may be .followed by a wash with water to removeall traces of the soap prior to bleaching.

It is established that dilute mineral acids do not attack the celluloseof cotton; but if a fabric containing such acids be subjected to dryheat tendering at once takes place. In the practice of the presentinvention, all possibility of such tendering is eliminated as the usualdrying step of the old process (just before mercerization) is notemployed.

For the purpose of describing the invention and making the processthereof available to others skilled in the art; some particularity hasbeen observed in giving strength of solutions, temperatures employed,periods of time for immersion and washing, etc.; but it is to beunderstood that the invention is not limited to these precise details asit is well known that all such factors are variable according to thegrade of cloth under treatment For example, it may be desirable, intreating the. heavier grades of cloth, to employ a hydrochloric solutionmade to Twaddell at 2 and to lengthen the time of immersion therein totwo minutes, and such cloth may require say thirty minutes in the hotsoap bath. It is also to be understood that the various steps need notnecessarily be taken in the precise order here set forth. These detailsmay be varied within the terms of the appended claims without departingfrom the. spirit of the invention.

Having thus describe @following is claimed:

1. The method of cleansing and desizing fabric to condition it forfinishing operations, which comprises a brief treatment with dilutemineral. acid'witha subsequent brief treatment with dilute alkali.

2. The method of cleansing and desizing cotton fabric which comprisessubjecting the fabric to the brief action of a dilute hydrochloric acidsolution at or near the boiling-point, next washing with water, andthentreating with acaustic solution at or near the boiling point andmade to Twaddell atapproximately the same degree assaid acid solution,substantially as described.

3. The method of cleansing and desizingcotton fabric which comprisessubjecting the fabric to the action of a hot hydrochloric acid solutionmade to Twaddell at from 1 to 2 degrees, next washing with Water, andthen treating with a dilute caustic.

.4. The herein described process of preparing grey cotton fabric formercerizing and bleaching which includes subjecting the fabric :to theaction of a hydrochloric acid solution at or near the boiling-point andmade to Twaddell at from l to '2 degrees, to decompose and dissolvestarch and other non-desirable matters, treating the fabric with adilute caustic solution to neutralize said acid, and washing to cleansethe fabric.

5. The method of cleansing and desizing cotton fabric preparatory tomercerizing and bleaching which includes subjecting the same to theaction of a hot dilute hydrocliloric acid solution to. decompose ordissolve the starchy and other non-desirable matters, then washing toremove said matters and. part of said'a cid. and treating the fabricwith a dilute caustic to neutralize the remainder of said acid.

6. The hereindescribed process of finishing grey cotton fabricpreparatory tobleachingwhich consists in subjecting the fabric to theaction of a hot dilute mineral acid solution, next neutralizingsaidacid, then subjecting to a-mercerizing treatment, followed by a hotsoap wash.

7. The method of finishing grev cotton fabric which includes subjectingthe same to the action of a dilute mineral acid bath, neutralizing andremoving said acid, subjecting the fabric to a mercerizing treatment,followed by a hot soap wash, and bleaching in any suitable manner.

d the invention, the

8. Themethod of cleansing and desizing ment with an alkali, whereby anyprolonged individual treatment for cleansing is dispensed with and theprogress of the cleansing treatment made substantially to keep pace 5with the progress of subsequent finishing treatments.

9. The herein described method of preparing greycotton for bleaching ordyeing which consists in subjecting a continuously to traveling fabricto the action of a hot dilute mineral acid solution, next to the actionof a dilute alkali solution to neutralize said acid, then to a strongcaustic solution to mercerlze said fabric, followed by a hot soap wash,and intermediate washings with water.

10. The method of preparing grey cotton for finishing operations whichcomprises briefly subjecting. a continuously traveling ,fabric thereofto the action of an acid solution and an alkaline solution with anintermediate washing treatment.

In testimony whereof, I have signed my name to this specification.

JOSEPH P. MILLIKIN.

